planted aquarium lighting questions

[fishstah]

I have a planted 10 gallon aquarium. I have a few plants. I don't know what all of them are called, but I am concerned about anubias and amazon sword. I currently have two 6500k cfls. They are the kind you get from walmart that are intended for use in aquariums and are 10 watts a peice. I don't have the boxes any more, but I think they are each suposed to put off the same amount of light as a 50w incandecent bulb. I have some neon tetras, and they kind of freak out when I turn the lights on. I think they are too bright. I'm also growing some type of green algae on my largest anubias leaf that comes in the most direct contact with the light. I'm planning on getting some grass from pet smart to shade the anubias and the neons, but I'm also thinking about changing my lights. Would I get dimmer lighting from a regular flourecent lamp? What difference in lighting quality could I get from a flourecent lamp vs. cfls? Are the cfls intended for aquariums from walmart dimmable? Are there any dimmable cfl's intended for aquarium use on the market? Would dimmer lights look better? Could I go with a higher color temp and get a cooler look without encouraging algae growth, while maintaining plant health? What kind of lumens do you get from a typical flourecent lamp vs my 20 watts of 6500k cfls. If you have any suggestions or would like to share your personal experience, I would appreciate your input. Thanks.

 

[Jess1ca]

In my bedside 10g I rigged my hood to hold regular CFL's & my plants are rockin!

The algae on the Anubius may be Green spot algae. I've heard you could spot dose a fert like Flourish Excel & it will take care of that.

Duckweed & frogbit Are some cool floating plants that could shade the tank & it has cool roots that fish can hide & play in.

 

[Jess1ca]

In my bedside 10g I rigged my hood to hold regular CFL's & my plants are rockin!

The algae on the Anubius may be Green spot algae. I've heard you could spot dose a fert like Flourish Excel & it will take care of that.

Duckweed & frogbit Are some cool floating plants that could shade the tank & it has cool roots that fish can hide & play in.

And I really need to trim my moss hahaa, lookin scraggly but growin a ton!

 

[fishstah]

Thanks Jessica. Tell me more about this flourish and Excell. I have never used ferts, and I've read that fish don't exactly like them. My aqurium is at a level of homeostasis and I'd hate to do something that might make my fish sick. I think the algae is the kind you mentioned. It does look like green spots. You can see it if you blow up the pic I added. I found a way to dim my lighting a bit and I'm satisfied with it. I put 20% window tint on the peice of glass bleow the lights. The picture was taken after I dimmed the aquarium.

 

[phishfriend]

Yeah you can grow just about anything with those. Excel is basically a liquid co2. Flourish is a good one to add twice a week.

Also, you may want to look in to the pps-pro dry fertz system. If you choose to go fully planted.

 

[Coursair]

Ferts will not hurt fish !